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It was big day for Otalia fans around the globe when Crystal Chappell (Olivia, GL, now Carly, DAYS) got her long awaited Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series! Considered one of the early favorites to walk home with Daytime’s highest honor, On-Air On-Soaps caught up with Crystal this afternoon for a quick chat about nomination day, and the classic graveyard scene where Olivia professes her love for Natalia, which garnered her a slot in the final five!

Crystal on how she found out she was nominated: “I was awakened at 5:30AM by my publicist, Leslie Penny. And I said to her, “Oh, that is so wonderful!”, and then I went back into bed! My son turned ten yesterday and we had celebrated with him last night so I was a bit tired, but it’s exciting! I texted other people and congratulated them as well. I was actually out scouting locations today for season two of Venice, so I will be twittering later. Those twitter folks are right there with me, and amazing.”

Crystal on the meaning of the nomination for her time on Guiding Light: “I am thrilled. It is always excited to get nominated. I am sure Beth Chamberlin (Ex-Beth, GL) feels the same way. Guiding Light meant so much to me. It’s not here anymore, and so it’s a different feeling this time. It all just reminds me of all the things I miss about it and the people. And, I have great wonderful memories and friendships. I just ran into a woman at a restaurant. She goes, “Oh my God, Guiding Light! I loved the story and the character of Olivia,” and it just happened 15 minutes ago… and that doesn’t happen everyday. So, I think it’s amazing that it happened today of all days. She also said, “I wept when Guiding Light went off the air. I had been watching it from when I was in the second grade. And I am 37 now.” So, here I am talking about missing Guiding Light, and I said, “I know exactly how you feel” But this is nice to go to the Emmys and represent a show that is no longer here, but a part of so many people lives. It’s really an amazing thing.”

Crystal on if she wins if she will recognize the LGBT community in her acceptance speech: “Well, of course! That is what the whole nomination and the whole thing is about. It’s these two women who fall in love and the obstacles they had to overcome. So absolutely, I would definitely speak to that.”

Crystal on her fellow nominees for Lead Actress: “I love all of them. Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R) texted me this morning and said, “We are having lunch in Vegas!” Maura West (Carly, ATWT), I love. Bobbie Eakes (Krystal, AMC) and I have known each for a very long time, and she is wonderful. I mean, I socialize with these people, and Sarah Brown (Ex-Claudia, GH) is adorable. It is a good group. We will have a good time at lunch and take pictures and tweet them out!”

Crystal on if she knew when she filmed the graveyard scene if she knew immediately she had hit a home run: “You know whether something is cooking or not, and if you are fully in a moment. But what was important to me was in the writing of the scenes. By the way, Jill Lorie Hurst called me this morning crying. She was GL’s head writer, and she has a wonderful character sense. As soon as I read it, I went, “Wow, I can’t wait to do these.” I thought it was just so honest. When we shot the scenes it was freezing out there in Peapack. But what we learned to do on Guiding Light, is notice that things like that added to the realism of the scenes. At the end of it, I knew those scenes went really well.

Crystal on the nominations for her new cast at DAYS: “I am happy for them. They are cool and talented people. I am happy that they got represented like that.”

Crystal on if she feels pressure being the favorite to take home the gold: “Ihave been doing this a long time, and people that I thought were going to win, didn’t win. So I don’t look at that way. If it happens that would be great. If it doesn’t, I got the nomination and that is really special to me.”

Thanks Michael for this. Am so happy that Crystal got nominated…richly deserved. ITypical of Crystal to acknowledge Jill’s writing talents, because I believe behind every great actor is a great writer helping them shine as brightly as they can. If I’m feeling this happy about her being nominated, God knows how I’ll feel if she wins!

I am thrilled beyond belief that Crystal is nominated! I am thrilled Beth Chamberlin and Zach Conroy are nominated too! As a fan of theirs and a fan of Guiding Light…and seeing how last year’s GL tribute went so badly (no matter how much thought, care and planning went into it)…I have my fingers and toes crossed that all 3 are wins.

Crystal is so right that filming outside in Peapak…in the cold and the snow…did add so much realism to the scenes…and as a fan watching those scenes on television, I could appreciate the beauty of those scenes all the more.

That’s one thing I noticed when attending the GL fan events…having to shoot scenes on location was talked about in such a negative way. And I only found out later on that the conditions for the actors were trying at times, to say the least. But as a fan who wasn’t aware at the time of all the hoops the cast had to jump through…for me, the on-locations scenes were wonderful…beautiful…and made the cast even more handsome and beautiful. I *loved* the outdoor scenes…especially the scene with Olivia and Natalia in the gazebo after Natalia ran away from her wedding to Frank…and Bill and Lizzie’s outdoor wedding among the trees…the setting itself was a 3rd character in those scenes…the setting made those scenes. So I hope the cast gets to know at some point how fans like me appreciate the extra efforts they had to go through to shoot their scenes in Peapak.

Also, I must say I am a bit confused about the reference wondering if Crystal will recognize the lgbt community in her acceptance speech. I am confused because it was and has been fans…period…who have supported Crystal and drawn to the love story of Olivia and Natalia. It was the regular soap press who first gave the storyline the attention it deserved. Many people…regardless of sexuality…were drawn to and cheered the storyline. Long-time fans of Crystal…long-time soap fans…you name it, they loved Olivia and Natalia and they loved their story. And to suggest that the majority of the support of the Otalia story and Crystal came from the lgbt community is to basically miss the message of the love story of Olivia and Natalia.

Hi Maureen:
Thanks for your comments. I , in no way, was referring to that one component was more important in terms of the Otalia fan base, than the other. What was so great about this story was the universal love story that transcended to all segments of the population. My question came to Crystal came out of this thought..many times on award shows when an actor wins an award, for instance Sean Penn, for his performance in “Milk”, when he got up to accept his honor, he took a moment to speak to equality – something that had to do with the intergral part of the character they had played. Since Olivia and Natalia became a sex-sex couple, I thought it is part of a social message that Crystal might want to address, as just a small part of her acceptance speech if she were to win. I hope this makes sense.

Well, see…I said I was confused by the question…and thank you Michael for taking the time to reply. Your explanation makes perfect sense.

P.J replied May 13th, 2010 at 10:08 am

Thank you Michael and Crystal for taking the time to do this interview. I am so happy for Crystal. She deserves this nomination and much more. Otalia was such a beautiful story that touched our hearts like no other. I totally agree with Maureen that the on – location scenes were absolutely beautiful and it made the story feel even more real. The incredible acting, especially from from the brilliant Ms. Chappell took it to an entirely different level. Wow!

I so look forward to seeing Crystal win the “Best Lead Actress” Emmy. It should have been hers along time ago. Congratulations, Crystal ! You are up there with the very best.

Thank you, Michael, for talking to Crystal and posting this interview. Crystal was indeed tweeting last night and so happy for her fellow nominees..she is a gracious person, always. I am so happy for her nomination; I really hope she wins. It will mean so much to the Otalia/GL fans!

Thanx Michael.Graveyard scene cooking? I would say SMOK’N! My fave part of that scene is after Olivia’s outburst of emotion. Those moments are so achingly tender and raw. The contrast really shows the essence of CC’s talent. I hope she includes those few seconds in the clip for the Emmy’s.
No matter how many times I watch that scene, it still gives me butterflies. *sigh*
~roo

I remember watching the wedding week and the graveyard scene in particular and thinking, “Yep. Crystal Chappell just won an Emmy.” It was an amazing time for the Otalia story and for the show, especially coming on the heels of CBS’ announcement that “Guiding Light” was cancelled. If she wins I hope she takes the time to thank Jessica Leccia instead of the LGBT community because as awesome as Crystal was throughout the whole Otalia arc, Jessica was right there with her in the much less showy role of a character forced to keep her emotions under wraps from everyone, even herself. These two were Yin and Yang and together they made an incredibly special story that will resonate for years.

Nice getting the first interview following her nomination. But couldn’t you have posted a pic of Olivia looking a little less forlorn? CC is such a talented actress and has long deserved recognition as a lead. Hopefully it will be the Otalia story that finally gives it to her.

All the actresses did a phenomenal job, though It’s hard to compare the realism of Crystal Chappell’s performance to the rest. Not only did her talent shine in such a unique and compelling storyline- the production model of GL was beautifully used to making her scenes that much more invigorating and raw in the graveyard scenes and gazebo scenes. She killed it!

I just have a strong feeling that this is the year for Chrsytall’s Emmy. She has done so much for the soap world and with her online soap, Venice. And don’t forget the LGBT community. She is a beautiful woman who does beautiful work. More power to her and Good Luck at The Emmy’s..

thanks Michael & Crystal….once again, great questions and i always love any and all answers Crystal gives! funny, honest, sassy….she brings it all plus more! i’ve heard a few stories about who will win this year’s EMMY but i support Crystal and look forward to her gracing the stage with an endearing acceptance speech! if by some silly twist of fate one of the other nominees wins (OMFCC, i can’t believe i just put that in writing) she’s said she’ll drink enough to make her think she has…and so will i!

L*O*V*E & T*H*A*N*K*S* to you Crystal for EVERYTHING you have brought, and continue to bring to your audience ☮♡☺xo♥♀♀

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